


When Everything Just Falls Into Place

by hannahpanda



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: 2000s, 80's Music, 90's Music, Abuse, Accidental Cuddling, Agnostic Character, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst and Romance, Attempted Kidnapping, Attempted Murder, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Attempted Sexual Assault, Awkward Crush, Awkward Flirting, Banter, Bisexual Female Character, Blood, Blood and Injury, Blushing, Canon Related, Canon-Typical Violence, Catholic Guilt, Catholicism, Cheesy, Child Abandonment, Child Abuse, Child Death, Child Neglect, Childhood Memories, Class Differences, Class Issues, Closeted Character, Clumsiness, Co-workers, Cohabitation, Coming Out, Couch Cuddles, Crime Scenes, Crimes & Criminals, Crush at First Sight, Cuddling & Snuggling, Death, Detectives, Developing Friendships, Domestic Bliss, Domestic Fluff, Domestic Violence, Drugs, Drunk Dancing, Drunk Sex, Drunk Texting, Drunken Confessions, Drunken Flirting, Drunken Kissing, Drunken Shenanigans, Dysfunctional Family, Early Mornings, Early in Canon, Emotional Baggage, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Family Issues, Family Member Death, Femslash, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Forehead Kisses, French Kissing, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Gentle Kissing, Gentle Sex, Guns, Gunshot Wounds, Harvard University, Hate Crimes, Heteronormativity, Hostage Situations, Humor, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Implied Relationships, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Incest, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, Incest, Injury Recovery, Inner Dialogue, Inspired by Law & Order: SVU, Internal Conflict, Kidnapping, Kissing in the Rain, LGBTQ Character, Late Night Conversations, Late at Night, Law School, Lawyers, Lazy Mornings, Legal Drama, Lesbian Character, Light Angst, Love Confessions, Major Character Injury, Meant To Be, Mild Smut, Minor Character Death, Minor Injuries, Minor Violence, Morning After, Morning Sex, Murder, Mutual Pining, Neck Kissing, Nervousness, New York City, No Lesbians Die, One True Pairing, Past Child Abuse, Pining, Police, Police Brutality, Police Procedural, Police Uniforms, Pre-Relationship, Rape, References to Addiction, References to Canon, References to Depression, References to Drugs, Religious Conflict, Religious Guilt, Romance, Romantic Friendship, Rough Kissing, Secret Crush, Secret Relationship, Sexual Assault, Sexual Harassment, Sexual Tension, Shooting Guns, Shower Sex, Single Parents, Sleepy Cuddles, Sleepy Kisses, Sleepy Sex, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Dancing, Slow Romance, Soulmates, Subtext, Surprise Kissing, Sweet, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, True Love, Unresolved Emotional Tension, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Useless Lesbians, Violence, Wealth, White Collar Crime, Workplace Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:27:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23441683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hannahpanda/pseuds/hannahpanda
Summary: "Alex was lithe and graceful, a lioness who'd assumed human form just for her own amusement. Olivia ached to draw Alex into her arms, thought of how good it would feel just to hold her without fear of the judging eyes that surrounded them." When Olivia Benson and Alexandra Cabot meet, they're thrown into a deliciously tumultuous struggle between what they want, who they are now and who they could be together. Will they find it within themselves to act on who they truly are and the connection that runs so deeply between them?
Relationships: Elliot Stabler/Kathy Stabler, George Huang/Original Male Character(s), Olivia Benson/Alexandra Cabot, Olivia Benson/Brian Cassidy, Rafael Barba/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 22





	1. Prelude

Olivia Benson dreamt in open skies.

She had spent her entire seventeen years in a cramped Queens apartment, on a cramped Queens street, in a cramped neighborhood and a city that always felt as if it were bursting at the seams with the magnitude of human energy it failed to contain. Travelling to school on an overcrowded bus, pushing through congested hallways, trying to find space for her elbows in an overflowing English classroom, she let part of her mind go. Let it have the freedom to run and stretch that she could never allow herself in either body or mind. Allowed to escape the bite of loneliness and the ever looming guilt of existence. 

Lying in bed at night, a strip of incandescent light falling across her face as she watched the shadows of the city painted against a reddish night sky, she dreamt. Her dreams were as expansive as her physical form and space was limited. In dreams, she flew over soaring snow-capped peaks, limitless rolling prairies and unbroken virgin forests. In dreams, she walked grassy meadows and pristine wetlands, running her fingers through the vines of buttercups and across trails of moss. She could almost, but not quite, smell the rich dark soil and cool night air. 

In dreams, Olivia Benson was free. 

Alexandra Cabot, on other hand, dreamt of closeness. Her life was expansive and free, her home light and airy. She moved as she pleased through this world, buoyed by wealth and status. Well, almost as she pleased, as long as she upheld her family’s position and did her duty. 

Duty. A rotten word on the tip of her tongue. Duty was crisp plaid skirts and fresh stockings, powdered Oxford shirts and daily Mass. Duty was the right thoughts and words, the proper gestures and platitudes, the wielding of legacy and power. Duty was Harvard and Princeton and Yale, immaculate tablecloths and polished silver, lawyers and judges and keeping old money in old families. Duty was marriage to a good man with a good name who came from a good family.

Duty was not warm, was not comforting, was not homelike. Duty did not hold her in the dark of night when she had nightmares, nor did it give her the gentle and reassuring touch she craved day in and day out. The touch that said “I’m here. I’m next to you. I know you and I will hold you.” In her dreams, Alexandra was held. Wrapped in soft blankets, rocked to sleep by strong arms and drifted off with a kiss to the forehead.

Olivia dreamt of openness, and Alexandra dreamt of closeness.


	2. The First Meeting

**September 8th, 2000.**

“Captain! My DD-5 on the Sullivan case.”

Olivia Benson strode through Captain Cragen’s office door, bumping the door open with one hip and paying no mind to whether or not it was occupied.

Cragen gave a terse nod. “Thanks, Liv. Now can you light a fire under Elliott and get his done?”

Olivia chuckled wryly, shifting from one foot to another. “Is that all, Captain?”

“Oh, and you should probably meet our new ADA. This is Alexandra Cabot, she’s been uh, assigned to evaluate our caseload by the Morris Commision.” He gestured and Olivia turned slightly, wanting to roll her eyes at the very thought of the Morris Commision.

A slim blonde woman stood, extending a perfectly manicured hand towards Olivia. Olivia took in her pressed suit, smooth blonde hair, pearl earrings and willowy silhouette. Why was her mouth suddenly going dry. Maybe it was the fourth cup of coffee she’d had that morning.

“Detective Benson. Olivia. Nice to meet you, and I hope you enjoy your time digging around for our skeleton closets.” She returned the handshake. To her surprise, Alex’s full lips pursed into a slight smile and she chuckled.

“I promise not to dig too far, only as far as I’m told too.” Olivia realized their hands were still connected and awkwardly broke the handshake.

“Well, like I said, nice to meet you and I’m sure we’ll be working together soon enough.” She turned, still feeling Alex’s eyes on her back.

“Oh, Liv, don’t forget to get me the ME’s report on the O’Donnelly case as soon as it's ready,” Cragen called after her.

But Olivia hardly heard him as she hurried back to her desk, nervously wrapping a hand around the aforementioned coffee. She tried to avoid staring at Cragen’s open office door for a glimpse of the new ADA’s blonde head.

“What bug’s up your ass? Did Cragen say something to you?” Elliott asked, immediately noticing her jumpiness.

But Olivia didn’t answer him, instead watching the last swirl of black coffee at the bottom of her mug and trying not to think about blue eyes and manicured hands with soft palms. Because Olivia Benson was heterosexual, for all intensive purposes. Especially work purposes and especially as a female detective in the NYPD. Her relationships with men never stuck, but she could blame that on practically living in the SVU squad room. Never mind Abbie Carmichael's long legs and intoxicating brown eyes fringed by heavy lashes. Or her mentor Karen Smythe, or Jillian Henderson from her college days who she had almost convinced herself was merely a friend. A close friend. A best friend who, frequently shared her bed and gave her the kind of smoldering looks that --

"Liv! Elliot!" Cragen's voice floated over her head at just the right moment and she jumped, nearly knocking her mug over.

"Yes, Captain?" She tried her best to flatten her voice into a casual cadence.

"Just got a call from the 33, a body dumped in Fort Washington Park. No underwear, no ID, and somebody bashed her head in. And uh -- it's a little girl. You two better get over there quick while the ME is still there."

Liv jumped from her chair, swinging her leather jacket over her shoulders. What better way to distract herself from her unwanted thoughts than to throw herself into her grizzly line of work. "On it, Captain."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

**September 11th, 2000.**

Abbie Carmichael swirled her drink glass, staring into its depths like it held some kind of mystical answer. "So, what's the new ADA like?"

Olivia took a sip of her own drink and paused before answering What was the new ADA like? _Haughty, old money, strung as tightly as a violin bow. Really nice legs._ “She’s...young, younger than both of us. Smart, she’s a Harvard Law grad. She has money and connections so I don’t know what she’s doing grubbing around in the Sex Crimes Bureau.”

Abbie snorted. “Maybe she’s slumming it. Charity work before she moves on to something classier like Appeals.”

For some reason, her statement bothered Olivia. “No, I think she really does want to be here. There are certainly better places for charity. I don’t know, though, it’s so hard to read her.”

“What do you mean read her?”

“Well.” Olivia paused. _What did she mean?_ “She, uh. I can’t predict what she’s going to say or do. She’s immune to my fine detective skills.”

Abbie leaned forward, a conspiratorial smile playing at her lips. “Sounds like we have a mystery on our hands, Benson. And we both love a good mystery.”

A svelte mystery with nice eyes and legs for days. “I’ll see what I can suss out, I know you need your gossip.”


End file.
